Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied
Department of Malay Studies,
National University of Singapore (NUS)
Among the many rituals and ceremonies that are firmly ensconced
within the Malay culture in Singapore, what is known today as the Majlis
Bercukur (Shaving of the Hair Ceremony) is probably one of the few that
has withstood the onslaught of rapid modernization and social change. The
reasons for this persistence are not hard to find. As a minority within a
predominantly Chinese dominated city-state, Malays in Singapore identify
themselves as ‘Muslims’ and saw aspects of the religion of Islam to
assert their identity. Although it is to be admitted that divisions along
class, sub-ethnic backgrounds, religious ideologies, and political
affiliations are still prevalent, two common threads runs through: the
community is bounded together by the attachment to Islam as a system of
belief and the Malay adat (culture) as guides to social as well as
individual conduct.[1]
The origins of Majlis Bercukur could be traced to the time of the founder
of Islam, Prophet Muhammad, who laid much emphasis on the inculcation of
gratefulness to the Almighty Allah, social bonds, manners and civility
(ta’dib) in children, especially in the early years of life. ‘It
takes a village’, as an African proverb puts it, ‘to raise a
child.’ Likewise, for Muhammad and later Muslims who adhere to his
teachings, it is the responsibility of the parents in particular and the
community in general to ensure that a newborn is properly initiated into
the religious belief and collective fraternity through knowledge, rites
and customs in the long process of becoming a functional member of
society. The other more immediate objective of the ceremony lay in the
fact that the hair of a newborn would normally have remnants of mucus
from the womb. Shaving is seen as a means to ensure that healthy hair
would grow again. These are key underpinnings which substantiates the
purposes of Majlis Bercukur as practised by the Malays in Singapore. To
neglect these underpinnings is to reduce the ceremony to a mere event
devoid of its sacred, social, and medical justifications.
Faced with busy schedules and long working hours due to the
high costs of living in Singapore, the Majlis Bercukur would usually be
organised on weekends. Friends, neighbours and relatives are invited and
the numbers ranged between more than two dozen persons to several
hundreds. Among the factors that determined the relative sizes of
invitees are the social statuses of the newborn’s parents and on
whether the coming of the child has been along awaited. Furthermore, a
majority of Singaporeans are living in high-rise flats which meant that
the numbers of guests had to be limited in accordance to the size of the
home. It is also fascinating to note here that there has been a growing
tendency among selected middle-class Malay professionals to send cards
inviting influential persons to grace the ceremony. Such is however an
exception to the prevailing custom of issuing oral invitations by going
house-to-house or via telephone.
Religious teachers (asatizah) or several persons who are
respected for their knowledge of Islam are specially invited to lead the
reading of the berzanji â€" supplications and poems in honour of Prophet
Muhammad. They are normally seated adjacent to the newborn’s father
whilst the other guests would face one another, sitting in parallel rows
at the main hall of a given house. There is a strict emphasis on
segregation between the sexes in Islam which meant that the women would
either be in the kitchen or occupy any of the nearby rooms. Both sexes
would usually don the traditional Malay custom and there is a high degree
of tolerance to other forms provided that modesty is observed.
The celebrity of the day is, of course, the newborn whom, more
often that not, is less than two weeks old. Be it male or female, the
child would be covered with a woollen white cloth, signifying purity. A
large bowl filled with water, along with a pair of scissors or a shaver,
is placed on a tray for the shaving of the child’s hair. Upon
expressing his gratitude to the attendees, the parent or a representative
would commerce the occasion by reciting of Surah Al-Fatihah (the opening
chapter of Quran). This is followed by a distribution and mass reading of
the berzanji text. At the same time as the praises of Prophet Muhammad are
read, a signal will be made to the effect that all are required to stand.
The child would be carried by the ustaz (religious teacher) or the parent
across the hall and selected guests would then shave or cut the child’s
hair. By this time, the newborn would normally be awakened and his/her
cries are regarded by some Muslims as a prayer for the parents. The
ceremony ends with a reading of a long du’a (supplication) for the
newborn’s family and the Muslim Ummah (community) as a whole. A feast
consisting of rice, porridge, fruits and other Malay delicacies is then
served marking the end of the joyful occasion.
Among those who subscribe to the Sufi interpretation of Islam
enmeshed with local mysticism, it is believed that the Prophet Muhammad
himself would be present at the event. There are others that go as far to
place the child’s hair in a decorated coconut and to prepare a large
feast of yellow rice as well as white and brown porridge after the
shaving ceremony, believing that through these, the newborn will blessed
by Allah with good fortune. These beliefs together with other related
issues have, for many decades, been reviled by Muslim reformers.
Identifying themselves as being a part of the Muhammadiyah and/or
Salafiyyah movement, the reformers argue that while the Majlis Bercukur
is part of the Islamic tradition, the reading of the berzanji, the
organisation of ostentatious feasts and other mystical features are clear
departures from the teachings of the Prophet. Islam, they assert, gave
much stress on simplicity in the performance of all sacred rites. The
shaving of the child’s hair and the giving of alms in accordance to the
value of gold of the hair’s weight are the main thrusts of the
ceremony.[2]
While these polemics are regarded by some quarters as a
factor that would contribute to a weakening of the already diminutive
Malay community in Singapore, it is perhaps important to highlight here
that the Islamic Civilization, much like the other civilizations, had
thrived due to the existence of internal criticisms and constructive
disagreements among scholars and the learned class. Indeed, whether the
Majlis Bercukur could endure the wave of change and transformations is
dependent upon the Malay-Muslims’ exposure to intellectual engagements
embedded within Islamic and Malay history. Education, inter-generational
communication and, more importantly, mutual respect are the essential
ingredients that will ensure the sustenance of Majlis Bercukur, and for
it to not be relegated to being a figment of the past.
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[1] See Kamaludeen Mohamed Nasir and Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied, Muslims
as Minorities: Studies in the History and Social Realities of Muslims in
Singapore (Kuala Lumpur: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Press, 2008).
[2] For a detailed but rather dated discussion on the Muslim Reformist
Movements in Singapore, see James L. Peacock Muslim Puritans: Reformist
Psychology in Southeast Asian Islam (Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1978).
Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied
Department of Malay Studies
National University of Singapore
web site: http://profile.nus.edu.sg/fass/mlsasmk/
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